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COPYRIGHT 2000 Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Byline: Lila LaHood
Oct. 15--FORT WORTH, Texas--It's not much of an exaggeration to say that everyone in Texas knows Mrs Baird's bread.
So when Mexican giant Grupo Bimbo bought the company two years ago, one of its first priorities was to enhance that strong brand identity and use it to expand the market share for its own product lines in the United States.
Grupo Bimbo, Mexico's leading food manufacturer and the world's third-largest baking company, moved the headquarters of its U.S. operations to Fort Worth and set its sights on quickly translating its success in Mexico north of the border.
Juan Muldoon, president of Bimbo Bakeries USA, says he knew that combining a traditional family-owned Texas company with an international food manufacturer would bring operational challenges.
"Always, adapting to a new culture poses some resistance," he says. "One of the things we have been able to successfully integrate is a new commitment to the brands."
The company has also come to realize that its lofty goals may take longer to achieve in the highly competitive U.S. market.
For years, Grupo Bimbo has dominated the packaged bread market in Mexico. When it decided to extend its reach into the United States, the acquisition of Mrs Baird's -- then the largest family-owned baking company in the country -- gave it a solid U.S. foothold.
"It was a very wise move," says Gordon Davidson, editor of `Milling & Baking News,' a Kansas City, Mo.-based trade publication. "Baird's has been a very strong brand in the Southwest."
Mrs Baird's market share and distribution routes blanket Texas and extend into neighboring states.
The proximity to Mexico and a sizable Hispanic immigrant population also...
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